


Sweet and sour

by hkandi



Category: Naruto
Genre: Baked Goods, F/M, Hatake Kakashi Is Trying, Hatake Kakashi is Bad at Feelings, Iruka is a nice guy, Kind of bad ass Naruto, Kurenai will eventually be feeling pretty smug, M/M, Matchmaking, No sweet tooth, Planned interventions, sweet tooth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:02:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23414266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hkandi/pseuds/hkandi
Summary: Kurenai tries her hand at matchmaking. Asuma can't really avoid helping her. Kakashi wants coffee. Iruka tries to be social. And Naruto doesn't mince words.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Sarutobi Asuma/Yuuhi Kurenai, Umino Iruka & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 12
Kudos: 145
Collections: Iruka's Birthday Shiritori 2020





	Sweet and sour

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Last Night Heard My Own Heart Beating (Sounded Like Footsteps On My Stairs)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23354077) by [kycantina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kycantina/pseuds/kycantina). 



> Team #1 Iruka Birthday Shiritori, Part 5

(I don't own any characters etc etc)

"I'll make tea," Kurenai said, and Iruka joined her in the kitchen to help.

"So?" she asked once it was just them. "Kakashi?"

Iruka shrugged. "What about him?"

"What do you think?"

"He's okay."

"Okay?"

Iruka leaned against a counter and crossed his arms, frowning at her. "That's why you invited me to dinner? To set me up?"

Kurenai smiled as she readied the tea. "Yes. I wanted to have a dinner party and thought it would be a good opportunity. Asuma agreed, for the record."

Iruka sighed and moved to help her. "I don't think he likes me. He hasn't said two words to me tonight."

Kurenai hugged him. "Then he definitely likes you!"

Iruka shot her a confused look and she released him.

"If he didn't like you, he would have talked to you. He would have been vicious towards you!"

"Gee, thanks. But that's....horrible?"

Kurenai shrugged. "He can be like that when he meets people for the first time. But he's a great guy when you get to know him."

"You're engaged to his best friend, you, like, have to say that," Iruka countered. "But isn't he with the other guy, the loud one in green?"

"Who, Gai?" Kurenai asked. "No, they're just friends."

"Just friends?" Iruka asked, clearly doubting what she said.

"Well, more like rivals. But, friendly rivals. It's complicated," she said, shaking her head.

"Huh," Iruka mused. "I thought 'rival' was just like a pet name or something..."

______________

Iruka didn't pursue anything with or about Kakashi, and it seemed like the other man equally ignored anything about Iruka. Though both reflected that night on the attractiveness of the other, the matter was soon forgotten.

Until the next dinner party, a month later.

"Please, Ru," Kurenai begged a few days before it, "please do me this favor and pick up the dessert for me?"

"I can bring you literally any dessert you want, but why that bakery specifically? Why not ---" but before he could continue, she interrupted.

"Asuma's nephew is coming and it's his favorite dessert, and he won't eat it if it's not from there. It's nothing against you. Pretty please?"

He sighed. "Fine, fine."

"Great! It's already paid for, I told them it would get picked up at 6. Thanks!"

And so, a few days later, Iruka was in line waiting to pick up a cake.

"Sorry!" the girl working the counter apologized, grabbing a pen from one of the two buns atop her head so she could make a note. "Just a few more minutes! We've just been swamped today."

Iruka assured her it was fine, and moved to the side to wait.

As he was swiping around his phone, he heard a voice ask for "dinner rolls, ordered by Kurenai Sarutobi?"

"Just two minutes, and we'll have them right out for you!" the counter girl said, and Iruka looked to see Kakashi at the counter. The other man turned to stand aside to wait and locked eyes with Iruka, who gave a small smile and nodded.

Kakashi nodded back and moved to stand near him, and Iruka put his phone away.

"I don't remember your name, but haven't we met before?" Kakashi asked.

Iruka introduced himself, as did Kakashi. They stood in awkward silence for a moment, both recalling that their friends were trying to set them up with the other. What are two adults in that situation to do, they each thought, while waiting in a bakery, of all places?

"Kurenai asked me to get the dessert from here," Iruka finally said, grasping at just about anything to say. 

"Dinner rolls," Kakashi commented, pointing to himself. "Guess she's making us work for dinner tonight."

Iruka laughed. "It's a skill she has. You're not a guest at her place for long. Before you know it we'll be doing the dishes too."

They stood in silence again, both wondering why this bakery took so long for previously ordered items.

"Have you been here before?" Iruka asked. 

Kakashi shook his head. "No, but I don't go to bakeries often if I can help it." Iruka raised an eyebrow. "I don't like sweets," Kakashi said, shrugging.

"That's terrible!" Iruka admonished him. "Everyone likes some type of sweet."

"Not me," Kakashi said. "Never been my thing."

"You probably just haven't met the right kind of sweet," Iruka posed.

"Are you hinting at yourself?" Kakashi said, raising his eyebrows at him, and Iruka blushed. "Fine, what should I get?" he asked, looking at the bakery cases.

Iruka shrugged. "I don't know," he laughed, "I haven't been here before either. My favorite bakery is Konoha Delight."

Kakashi nodded. "Perhaps I'll have to visit it one day."

Before Iruka could respond, they were called to receive their goods and raced out together, as now they were running late, and neither wanted to get on Kurenai's bad side for it.

_______

"You talked to Iruka tonight, I'm impressed," Asuma said to Kakashi as he walked him to the door.

Kakashi shrugged. "I guess. Didn't I talk to him last time?"

"I think you said two words then," Asuma said, scratching his beard. "Probably 'hi' and 'bye.' "

Kakashi shrugged again and accepted his coat from Asuma. "We ran into each other before dinner picking things up from the bakery down the street as ordered by Kurenai. She's a tricky one when she wants to be."

Asuma laughed. "That's true. He's one of her best friends, she's got it in her mind to get you guys out on at least one date."

Kakashi sighed. "Maybe I'm happy being single?"

"She doesn't care. But he's a nice guy, Iruka. We've hung out a few times." Asuma paused. "What should I tell Kurenai when she inevitably asks?"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "I'll think about it," he said, before leaving.

____

Kakashi did think about Iruka, more and more, and regretted not asking for his number the night of the party. Sure, he could ask Asuma to ask Kurenai for it, but he thought he might delay it, knowing it would just encourage her to ramp up her matchmaking tendencies.

A few days after the party, he looked online for the bakery Iruka had suggested, and decided to visit it the next day, as he could go into work a bit later than usual.

Konoha Delight was a pleasant looking bakery, tucked into a busy street amongst other businesses, but seemed to have a decent flow of customers, considering it was just after what he thought might be the pre-work rush.

Kakashi waited in line, noting that it seemed much more efficient than the bakery Kurenai had sent him to.

There were a number of young people working there, college aged, he thought. A loud blond guy was working the counter and helping a pink haired girl who was making coffee, both helping to pull baked items from the glass cases. A dark haired, serious looking man darted in and out of a back area, the swinging doors barely missing him and the others as they moved.

Soon Kakashi found himself at the front of the line and placed his order, giving his name and moving to the side after paying.

As he was waiting, checking a work email on his phone, something caught his attention.

"Iruka!" the blond had shouted. "Hey hey!"

"Hey Naruto," Iruka greeted him, moving towards the counter. "Kakashi?"

Kakashi looked up to see Iruka.

"Hi," Iruka greeted him.

"Yo."

"You came?" Iruka asked with a large smile, and Kakashi was momentarily distracted. "What did you order?"

"Uh...coffee."

"Coffee?" Iruka said, frowning. "You came to a bakery and only got coffee?"

"I don't like sweets?" Kakashi said weakly, mentally kicking himself.

Iruka rolled his eyes and went to the counter as the last person in line finished paying. Kakashi could see Iruka talking to Naruto and pointing at something in a case. Naruto nodded and moved, pulling something out and placing it in a small white box, closing and tying the lid with red and white string before passing it back to Iruka.

Iruka brought it over to Kakashi and gave it to him.

"Maa, you shouldn't have," Kakashi protested, but Iruka shook his head.

"Well, I have to do something to convert you to the dark side. Or, sweet side," Iruka said.

Before either could say anything further, a voice called out to Iruka, and both men turned to see the raven haired man poking his head out from the back.

"Gotta go," Iruka said. "Coming, Sasuke!"

Kakashi watched him go behind the counter and pass through the swinging doors, then realized the blond...Naruto?...was watching him with narrowed eyes.

Naruto moved to help the pink haired girl finish the last few orders, calling out names.

"Kiki?" he called out.

"Kiki?" he called again. "Black coffee, for Kiki?"

Looking around and realizing none of the other two customers were moving up, Kakashi figured the coffee was his and sighed.

"I think that's mine, though it's not quite my name," he said.

Naruto passed him the cup and crossed his arms.

"How do you know Iruka?" he asked Kakashi.

"Mutual friends. You?"

Naruto helped to give the last two customers their orders before answering.

"This is his bakery," he said. "Obviously, I work for him. Though he's more than a boss, he's like family."

Kakashi noted the unspoken warning in the blond's words as they looked at each other in silence.

"So, if you want his number, it'll cost you," Naruto said, leaning on the counter.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Do you want him to know you exploit people?"

"Do you want him to know you watched his ass all the way to the kitchen?" Naruto countered.

Kakashi sighed. "That's fair. How much?"

______

Later, his wallet a little lighter, he texted Iruka.

"This is Kakashi. A blond bird gave me your number, hope that's ok?"

He received a response not long after.

"Unorthodox, but I'll have to thank him later. Saves me from having to ask Kurenai to ask Asuma, and then I'd never hear the end of it."

Kakashi laughed out loud.

Before he could respond, another text came through.

"Did you eat the cake?"

Kakashi looked at the empty box on his desk.

"I did, actually."

"And?"

"Pretty good."

"Pretty good??? That's one of my favorite things here."

Kakashi thought about what to write, before sending a response.

"Guess I'll have to come back and you can show me your top favorite?"

He didn't have to wait long for the response, and smiled when he read it.

"I guess so. How about the day after tomorrow, six o'clock?"

At the bakery, Iruka grabbed his phone when it buzzed and it was his turn to smile when he saw the incoming text.

"I'll be there."

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [A Read Of The Room](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23513194) by [pastles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastles/pseuds/pastles)




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